Confessions Surrounded by Glitter
by Sirele
Summary: Castle and Beckett go to a male strip club and more happens than expected. Post "The Limey"


Disclaimer: I do not own, nor claim to own the beautiful Kate Beckett or the charming Richard Castle. The creative genius known as Andrew Marlowe gets that joy.

When Captain Gates called Beckett, Ryan, and Esposito into her office they were expecting some sort of lecture. They were getting no where on the case and ever lead was turning into a dead end. Beckett braced herself for the impending roar of anger that Gates was most likely to express.

"I just got a call from the manager at the Pink Panther, the strip club saying he knows the Vic, who wants to go check, it out?"

"We'll go." Ryan and Esposito said in unison.

"It's a _male _strip club." remarked Gates, arching an eyebrow at the two.

"I guess I'll take it." Beckett sighed, surprisingly unenthused by the thought of half naked men. She walked over to her desk but stopped short when she saw Castle come out of the elevator She had doubted that he would be late, after all he had been for the last few days. The smirk on his face told her that he had been earning some frequent flyer miles.

"You going out?" Castle asked, stopping at the entrance to the elevator.

"Yeah, to a strip club, wanna come?" Beckett asked, as she walked over and pressed the button to open the elevator again.

"Have you ever known me to turn down a strip club?" Castle asked, stepping back into the elevator with Beckett on his heels. Just before the door closed, he could see Ryan and Esposito staring right at him and shaking their heads.

He was playing with her radio, as always.

"Why don't you just pick a station?"

"There aren't any good songs on."

"If you don't like my music you can walk to the strip club." Beckett shot a playful glare at him. Castle only shrugged and continued to play with the tuner until finally he found a song that he could sing obnoxiously loud to.

"_I won't disturb the slumber of feelings that have died. If I never loved I never would have cried. I am a rock, I am an island." _

"Alright, Art, we've got a case to talk about" Beckett interrupted by turning off the radio, not before she noted how sincere Castle sounded when he was singing the first part.  
"Which club are we going to anyway?"

"The Pink Panther"

"Turn the car around; I want to go back to the precinct"

"Oh come on Castle, please, just this once?" Beckett asked, hoping that she could at least have some company.

He mumbled something in protest as the car pulled up to the most popular male strip club in town.

When they arrived at the club, the hostess had placed them in a secluded area behind a curtain so thankfully for Castle they couldn't see the practice for a bachelorette party that was going on onstage. The hostess told them that it would probably be thirty minutes until the manager got there, but they could make themselves comfortable on the couch that sat facing the curtain.

Once the hostess was gone, both Castle and Beckett sat uncomfortably on the edge of the couch.

"So how is-"

"Great, just great!" Castle answered without even stopping to think about what she was going to ask.

"Is your mom still bringing students to the house?" She was asking questions that she knew the answer to because it was safe. She wanted to be sure that none of his answers would turn her world upside down. She wanted to make sure that she didn't let herself get caught up in whatever it was that they might have.

"They're doing Twelfth Night, it's kind of awkward to walk in and wonder if the person talking is a girl or a guy." Castle interrupted her thoughts. As he motioned, his arm brushed against hers, sending a tiny shock through her. It was like he was a hub of static electricity, but she was sure that now, it was too late for him to feel the same with her.

"She's going to do Richard III in a few weeks, Alexis is looking forward to-"

Beckett had moved so that she was a few inches from his face. She sat there staring at him, no, staring at his lips.

"Do you need something K-"

Her lips met his and he didn't pull back.

Beckett had no idea what she was doing, no, she knew exactly what she was doing, she was kissing Castle. She wasn't kissing him as an undercover scheme, but because she wanted to. As his lips pressed against hers, she remembered why exactly she was kissing him in the first place.

"Castle, I-" she stammered as she broke the kiss.

"Wait a sec." He told her, silencing her with another kiss. She tried to savor the feeling of this kiss; it might be the last, considering what she was about to tell him.

"Wh- When I was shot, I remember everything, I know that you told me you loved me," Beckett took in a deep breath, letting her mind catch up to the pace of her mouth. "I feel like you've been pulling away, and in the car, it just seemed like you meant it when you were singing, and now I've waited too long." Beckett continued, noting the blank stare on Castle's face.

Just then, the curtain opened and Ambrose Ferry, the manager of the Pink Panther, greeted them and sat down on the folding chair that the hostess brought for him.

"So what can I tell you about Jason?" Ambrose asked.

Hearing the name of the Vic, Beckett tore her eyes from Castle and turned to answer the manager.

"How did you know him?" Beckett asked.

"If you're asking if he was a customer, he wasn't" Ambrose answered "he was a friend of mine from college, and he actually helped me buy this place."

"How did you figure out that he died?"

"His wife called me, she was pretty upset, and since I was the closest thing he had to a real friend, she knew I could help"

The car ride home was quiet. The radio was turned off, and Castle wasn't saying anything.

"Do you have any crazy theories?" Beckett broke the silence.

"Actually, I do, but you better pull over, cause this one is going to amaze you" Castle spoke up.

She did as he told, pulling over near a bakery.

"Here's my theory: You didn't tell me before because you were scared, weren't you?"

For a second, Beckett had no idea what he was talking about. Then, she realized that he wasn't talking about the case at all, but what she had said before hand.

"I- had a lot to think about with Captain Montgomery." Beckett explained.

"No, that's not it, you were scared, why is that so hard to admit?"

"You know what I was afraid of Castle? You doing this. I was scared that you would play the stupid game and dance around the subject until I looked like an idiot professing my love to you." Beckett was trying to hold back the anger that was growing inside her; of course he would try to do something like this after she spilled her heart to him.

"Kate, you should no me well enough to know that this, what we have, is not a game."

"What exactly do we _have_, Rick?" She felt like hitting him, or kicking him out of her car, anything that would stop this conversation from happening.

"That's for you to decide." He pursed his lips, waiting for her.

Beckett thought for a minute, she could just put the car back into drive, go back to the precinct, and forget that this ever happened.

"I want to be worth your wait." Beckett almost whispered, looking up to meet his eyes.

When he leaned over and kissed her she didn't pull away, she kissed back. Out of the corner of her eye she could see people that were walking by staring, but she didn't care. All she was thinking as she let herself be absorbed in the kiss was how lucky she was that Rick Castle was a very patient man.


End file.
